Monday, 20 February 2012

Whilst we were at the Walker Art Gallery last Sunday (see last week's post) we had a wander around at some of their exhibits. I took a few pictures and I thought I'd share them with you.

Lily Savage outfits

These are just a few of the items that the art gallery has on display, there are lots of other beautiful things to see and there's also a lovely cafe on the ground floor! As well as the exhibition of Lily Savage's outfits, there's currently an exhibition of some of Henry Matisse's drawing books, this runs until 15 April 2012.

Monday, 13 February 2012

Yesterday (Sunday), I was fortunate enough to be invited, along with some other bloggers etc, to the launch of the Walker Art Gallery's 'Off the Hook' internet game. It was a lovely opportunity to try the game, talk to the people who had developed it (including Lisa Jones) and have a natter with some fellow bloggers. It's always nice to meet new people and find a couple of new blogs to read. So hello to Jane who writes the fashion and lifestyle blog Plain Jane and Helen with her sewing and crafting blog Sew Stylish (she has also posted about the 'Off the Hook' launch).

Platforms to fall off!

Now, to get back to the game. When you were little, did you play with paper dolls? I know I did. On the back of the Bunty comic there was always a doll, with a selection of clothes and accessories, with their little tabs to attach them to the doll, all ready to be cut out. Well. 'Off the Hook' works on the same principle, but it is online.

The game's homepage.

On the game's homepage you choose your fashion designer, either Vivienne or Tai and them 'dress' them from a selection of clothes and accessories taken from the collections held by the National Museums Liverpool(NML). There's als a little bit of information about each item.
﻿﻿Once you have created your 'look' you can save it and send it to your friends via Twitter, Facebook or email. Your look is also saved to the fashion gallery so others can see your creations!

The NML has a huge collection of clothes, textiles and accessories, many by famous designers, including Vivienne Westwood,Stella McCartney, Christian Dior, Yves St Laurent, Andre Courrèges and Dolce & Gabbana. Visit the 'Costume' section of the NML website to find out more information and pictures of some of the collection.

Lace-up platforms

If you have an interest in design, textiles and needlework like I do, the collections that are held by museums are full of inspirations for your own work. Two of my favourite museums for their online resources for these areas are the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Both museums have such a large database of items from their collections available online you can spend quite a lot of time browsing them without having to leave your chair.

Monday, 6 February 2012

We've had Jack and Ollie for about five years now (our last cat, Guinness, died at 17) and 'the Boys' are very much part of our lives. They don't quite rule it, but they come close.

Anyway, one of their occupations, which takes up a good deal of their time, is sleeping. Of their duties, including eating and going outside 'to check the perimeter', this one appears to be their most arduous, not!

There's a number of places where the sleeping can be carried out - various sofas, tables, trays, the bed and a number of places that take their fancy for a short while. These have included the top of wardrobes, in boxes, on piles of fabric, under the bath (Jack managed this one not long after we had him, he found a hole that he could access under the bath with!). Basically they'll have a go anywhere that's soft and warm!

Here are a few pictures of them 'hard at work'! The first picture is of Ollie, the next has both of them, then the next seven are Jack, with the last four being Ollie again.